Oh the excitement and the nerves that come with soon delivering a baby! However, being completely honest here, my nerves were OFF THE CHARTS with preparing for the arrival of baby #2 as I did NOT want a repeat of my delivery with Kinley!
Kinley’s delivery in a nutshell is…. 3 hours of pushing, worn off epidural, head was stuck, vacuumed twice, shoulder stuck, episiotomy, 4th degree tear (as in hole to hole and up the hole…TMI guys I know lol), Lidocaine (numbing medicine) exploded in the dr eyes….and lets just say my postpartum recovery and nursing experience was just along those lines!
Now, I definitely know that it could have been worse. However, since it was my first delivery and it went nothing like I expected it to, it caused what I like to call “Delivery Anxiety” in myself. Once I became pregnant with baby number 2, the nerves got more intense the closer I got to my due date.
I understood that usually the second delivery goes much more smooth since your body remembers what to do. The first child sort of paves the way for the rest of the children…. And paved the way she did with her big ol 98th percentile head!
This concept along with LOTS of hope, prayers, family/friend support, and the excitement of a new baby was literally the only thing keeping my “delivery anxiety” somewhat under control!
Getting Rowyn To Come Early
Since Kinley was too big for my body (she weighed 8 lbs 3 oz) and she took forever to drop (hence the pushing for 3 hours), our goal was to have Rowyn be born a bit smaller and to get her to come down as much on her own as possible before it was time to push.
To do this, my Doctor and I decided that I would get my membranes stripped twice at 38 weeks.
Wednesday, July 25th (38 weeks / 3 days) Today was the day I would get my membranes stripped for the first time…yay…
Holy crud you guys I was freaking nervous sitting with my naked behind on the “bed” with that oversized tissue paper resting on my lap waiting for the doc. Seriously so many thoughts ran through my head…
… “How bad is this going to hurt?”
…. “oh great, NOW I feel like I have to poop?!”
… “Pleeeease don’t toot in his face! I wonder how often that actually happens??”
…. “This better work!”
Doc first checked to see how far I was progressing which was uncomfortable but not too painful. He measured me to be dilated to a 2-3 and 50% effaced. I honestly was in complete shock that I was this far along since I felt like I was in my second trimester. You know… full of energy, wasn’t experiencing any Braxton Hicks contractions, no pelvic floor pressure, NOTHING!
Immediately after I got checked he said, “and now for the stripping”…. DEAR HEAVENS I didn’t think he could get in there any further!! I felt like a dog that just got neutered! However, if anything was going to help put me into labor, that certainly was going to do the trick!
Friday, July 27th (38 weeks / 5 days) This appointment was my very last one and if Rowyn didn’t come on her own I would be induced a week from today on August 3rd (my due date was August 6th). I absolutely did NOT want to wait until August 3rd to be induced since the whole plan was to get her to come early because we needed her to be smaller…Plus my Anniversary is August 3rd!
I went in to the appointment and got my final weight checked. I was 149 lbs, a total of 29 lbs gained for this pregnancy which I was very happy about! (I gained 31 lbs with Kinley).
They then took my blood pressure and it was around 140/90 (high). This exact same thing happened with Kinley where I had a random high blood pressure the last week of pregnancy. I told the nurse that it was probably high because I was nervous about getting my membranes stripped again! Also, I had to speed walk to the appointment because I was running late haha She laughed and said Doc will double check it.
Doctor came in and first checked to see how I was progressing. I had dilated to a 4 and 50% effaced! Woot Woot! The awful stripping did work! He was impressed with the progress as well but decided to strip membranes again for good measure. This time I didn’t feel the stripping at all. Miracles happen people!
He then proceeded to check my blood pressure and got the same 140/90 reading. He looked at me said, “Well, your blood pressure is still high and you’re progressing beautifully. Do you want to have a baby tonight?!” …… ummmmmm YES DOC, YES I DO!!!
They scheduled me to get induced that night at midnight!!
I hurried and called kyle, told him to cancel work for the weekend (he is an RN at the same hospital where I would deliver), and drove home to pack my hospital bag, clean the apartment, set up the crib and get the car seat out of storage…..yup procrastination at its finest!
IT'S BABY TIME!!
Saturday, July 28th (38 weeks / 6 days)
12:10 am – We checked into the hospital and I immediately changed into my glamorous hospital gown that literally shows off every curve in your body from behind and put on the ultra comfy socks that have grips on the top and bottom…why, just why??
I then got hooked up to an IV and connected to monitors. They had to try 2 spots for the IV and it took 20 minutes to get it in. I have been known to pass out with needles so I was happy to get this part over with!
They also checked my progress and I was still dilated to a 4 and 100% effaced in some spots and 0% in others. I didn’t know that was even a thing!
My Doctor gave the nurses strict instructions to progress me very slowly until he started his shift. (He came in at 7am). So the nurse just shut off the lights and told us to get some rest until she was given further instructions from my doctor.
“Wait, whaaaaa??…You aren’t going to break my water? Start me on Pitocin? NOTHING??”
At first I thought, “Why did they even want me to come into the hospital at midnight in the first place only to have me sleep for a few hours?” But I realized I would just be in my own bed at home WIDE awake with nerves anyways!
4:00 am – Started low dose Pitocin
2:15 pm – For 10 hours (since starting Pitocin at 4 am) I probably felt about 15 of the contractions. I would go hours of no contractions or inconsistent contractions or sometimes they were consistent but I wouldn’t feel them. It was seriously the weirdest thing!
My Pitocin was at a 16 (I don’t remember the units it’s measured in, but 20 was as high as it went). They told me my body just might not be ready to have the baby so they had me get out of bed and start moving to see if that would help… YES, I get to workout!!
I was super excited I was able to put some of my exercises to prepare for labor into practice AT the hospital! I put together some of my favorite exercises from The Fit Pregnancy Guide and got to work for an hour!
3:15 pm – It was the craziest thing… The minute I finished my exercises and laid down I IMMEDIATELY started having consistent contractions and I could feel every single one! (4 out of 10 on the pain scale for the contractions)
Those exercises were exactly what my body needed to put me into active labor! I cant stress enough the powerful impact exercise has on your body, especially during pregnancy to prepare you for labor and delivery!
6:10 pm – A brand new midwife came to check my progress. She measured me to be dilated to a 2 …. Seriously a 2?? How is that even possible?!… How could I be at a 2 when I had been checked twice already by two different people that I was a 4 (my doctor being one of them). She told me she was very positive I was at a 2 but would go get my doctor for a double check….THANK HEAVENS! (Contractions were a 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. Tolerable while focusing on my breathing but needing to schedule an epidural before its too late.)
6:20 pm – It had been only 10 minutes since the midwife checked me and my doctor was now in the room double checking my progress. He measured and I was at a 5 haha He had the midwife check again. She did and to her surprise she measured me to be at a 5 as well, even though she still was positive I was at a 2 just 10 minutes ago. She was super nice about it and we all had a good laugh!
Now, I don’t believe that I was at a 2 but I do believe her that I had made significant progress in that short 10 minute period because my pain went from a 5/10 to now a 10/10 from the contractions!! I was officially at the, “Give me the flipping epidural NOW!!”
6:25 pm – They broke my water and scheduled my epidural ASAP!
6:45 pm – This was the looooongest 25 minutes while I waited to get my epidural with an 11 out of 10 pain! Keep in mind that I am a sissy when it comes to labor pain haha (I cant even comprehend you amazing women that purposely plan to not get an epidural!)
I was in so much pain from the contractions while they were putting in the epidural that I legitimately couldn’t speak. The nurse would ask me questions and for some reason I couldn’t get my brain and mouth to connect to form words in the middle of a contraction.
7:10 pm – My blood pressure dropped drastically from the epidural so I got super nauseous and light headed. Luckily, I didn’t keep my mouth shut and called the nurse in just in time before I passed out. They gave me 2 medications to help and it sure did!
7:30 pm – Epidural has fully kicked in and all pain from the contractions is gone…HALLELUJAH!! Nurse Anesthetists/Anesthesiologists need a raise! (I’m biased since that’s what my husband is going to school for haha)
9:00 pm – My body was so relaxed that I was able to actually fall asleep!
TIME TO PUSH!!
Sunday, July 29th (38 wks / 7 days)
12:40 am – They came in and woke me up from a much needed 3 hour 40 min nap to check my progress. At this time the epidural is still fully working but I can slightly tell when I am having a contraction.
They barely had to check my progress and the nurse said, “Well, you are definitely at a 10 and the baby is extremely low. Are you ready to push?” I told her I didn’t feel the need to push whatsoever (in my head I thought that was a requirement for delivery time.) She told me she would go get my Doctor and see what he thinks. He immediately came in, saw how far I had progressed and said, “Let’s get this baby out!”
I was so unbelievably happy and completely shocked that I was told to push even though I didn’t feel the need to. (With kinley I was begging the nurses to let me push because I had soooo much pressure down there!)
When they turned on all the lights it sort of startled kyle since he was dead asleep on the couch. He shot out of bed so quick and looked at me with a deer in the head lights look. I just glanced over at him, gave him a little side smile and a slight nod…a.k.a it was go time!
“Alright, here we go McCall…You got this!”
The nurse held one of my legs, Kyle held the other, and I held the back of my thighs (my feet were not in stirrups.) Doctor and the midwife that was shadowing him (the sweet one that said I was at a 2 haha) were sitting on the edge of the bed instructing me when to push. It was super casual, I felt like I was delivering at my house!
The first couple pushes I immediately felt like I was going to throw up which made it hard for me to give it all I had. They gave me a bag and sure enough I started puking. When I was done I turned to the Doc and said, “Did those count as pushes?”…. He laughed and reassured me they did! Boo yeah! (Side Note: Ladies, if you feel light headed or nauseous or whatever during labor/delivery…TELL the nurse!! There is no reason to feel embarrassed or like you are bothering the nurse. They are there to help you so let them know when you need it!….ok rant over.)
I now was able to concentrate on my pushes and got a couple good sets in! (they have you hold the push for 10 seconds, rest for like 3 sec, and push 2 more times before a longer rest). After only about 5 sets I started feeling quite a bit of pressure….yeah that pressure was Rowyn’s head coming out!!
The next couple sets of pushes I was instructed to push very gently. At first I thought this was a little odd but then I realized why… While I gently pushed, the midwife rubbed oil as Doc gently turned Rowyn in different positions to get her to slide out with ease and to avoid reopening the 4th degree tear I got delivering Kinley.
Just a few gentle pushes later…
1:02 am – At 1:02 in the morning, sweet little Rowyn Kay Williams was born!!! She came out so easily and immediately was placed on my chest. I couldn’t stop kissing her! It was so cool watching Kyle cut the umbilical chord as well!
Rowyn came out with the biggest eyes just staring at me. Kyle had his head over my shoulder just smiling at her and I said, “Rowyn, it’s your daddy!” Immediately she shifted her eyes up and looked at him! Melted my heart!
Row didn’t even cry when she came out and still didn’t cry until the next day when she got her bath haha (Kinley was not like this at all lol)
Overall, this whole experience went WAY better than I ever could have imagined! We are so in love with her!
Happy Birthday Rowyn XOXO
Rowyn Kay Williams: 7 lbs 1 oz, 18 in, July 29th 2018, 1:02am
What went better for baby #2:
- Since I was able to sleep for almost 4 hours before pushing, kyle and I were both rested and energized for delivery.
- I was able to get out of bed, walk around, workout, and play on the yoga ball. With Kinley I had a catheter in the whole time and was stuck in my bed. the entire time.
- My epidural was working perfectly and lasted through delivery.
- I only pushed for 10-15 minutes rather than 3 hours.
- I ended up with only a 1st degree perineal tear and a small tear on the left labia rather than a 4th degree tear.
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